AUTHOR: Eric O. Jacobsen
PUBLISHER: Brazos Press
DATE: 2003
PAPER: Virgin fiber
PAGES: 166
PRICE: $16.99
People of all religious persuasions can find wisdom in this plain-spoken
portrait of how humanity and culture are enriched by the informal social
contacts of city life. Jacobsen, a pastor at the First Presbyterian Church
in Missoula, Montana, builds a case for why Christians should have special
concern for traditionally designed urban areas. At the same time, the book
explores themes of community and identity that are relevant to all
spiritual traditions.
He argues that we have been lulled into "worshipping false gods in the
name of American values." The concepts of individualism, independence
and freedom are wrongly associated with life in the suburbs, Jacobsen tells
us. Pointing out that identical tract homes and big box retailers are not
expressions of individual choice, he says we have allowed corporations to bend
our communities to their bottom-lines instead of our communal needs.
The car, so often equated with freedom, does not, in Jacobsen’s view, equal
the Biblical sense of liberation, instead it represents a form of
escapism. He writes that we have become isolated from one another
by our cars and our low-density developments. The result is a loss of civility and
a dismissal of God’s command to "love the stranger."
He notes that cities give rise to critical mass, a condition that stimulates
and incubates new ideas, significant events and formal art. Sidewalks in the
Kingdom is a powerful call for Christians to endorse our cities in the same way
they have embraced our natural environment. Should the concept catch hold,
Christians everywhere may soon be fleeing the suburbs for a city near you.
--Avery Yale Kamila
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